The Market Shift Continues as Sales Decline 17% and Months of Supply Rises 81%

What was a crazy market to start 2024 is quickly turning into a different story as we start the final few months of the year. We came out of the gates in January just flying, with sales up in each of the first four months over the previous year. It looked like the extreme sellers market we were in was going to continue to be a wild ride for buyers. Then we hit May. We felt the air start to leak out of the tires at the end of that month. It was the first time we had seen inventory  and the total months of supply grow substantially in the post-Covid era. Now, just a few short months later, we’ve gone from just under one month of supply on the market to almost three months. That is a big jump. And when we compare the months of supply to last year at this time, we are up a whopping 81%! (Months of supply means, if no other homes were listed in the city, it would take X amount of time for all the homes to sell based on sales vs inventory). 

Sales have also eroded steadily since the end of May, with inventory jumping up from 2711 homes for sale, to 5064 currently. Year over year, that’s almost a 50% jump. Price growth is slowing month over month as well. Even though prices are still up over the same time last year, the percentage of growth has been declining for five straight months. 

This actually not bad news at all. It’s great news for the market. It means that things are starting to stabilize, and that buyers and sellers are starting to be on a more level playing field. Sellers may not like this shift, as they have been in the drivers seat for several years, but buyers are loving it. And, frankly, realtors that represent buyers like this market better too. They get to take more time, show more houses, help their buyers make non-panicked decisions. It’s just a better all around experience for everyone. 

Sellers don’t need to worry too much, they just need to be more realistic about how much time it will take to sell their home. Don’t expect bidding wars in hours. Expect your home to be on the market for a while. The average days on market right now is 28 days. That is a massive shock for sellers that were expecting their homes to sell in hours. That was five months ago. This market can change in a hurry, and we’re in the middle of a shift that will see balanced conditions for both buyers and sellers soon if this trend continues.

Have a great October!

Cheers,

KR

P.S. If you want to check out all the latest stats from the Calgary Real Estate Board, click here.

Ken Rigel

CEO and Team Lead

Ken Rigel Group @ EXP Realty

O: 403 207 1748

C: 403 835 6338

email: [email protected]